The Unremarkable Man Who Fell Into The Dungeon's Pit Survives By Acquiring A Plain But Useful Skill, and Through Persistent Effort While Enduring The Absurdity, He Gradually Rises to Success - Episode 10

Shogo jumped up, startled by a pain in his neck that felt like being stung by a bee.

The pain subsided quickly, but I was bewildered by the excessive sweat that had poured out despite the relatively mild pain.

Kemomecho: “What’s wrong!?”

“I don’t know… It’s like an unpleasant pain, or maybe a sense of disgust… Probably, but something is coming.”

Shogo quietly responded to the worried voices depicted on the wall.

And then, to check outside, I slightly dismantle the simple barricade I made in the safe zone, peek out cautiously, and survey the surroundings.

Looking out over the lake. The changes since before I slept are——

“Again…”

It was clear enough to understand.

Shogo, still pale, turned his face back to the safe zone and let out a deep breath.

Kemomecho: “Shogo, could it be that you also have tracking skills?”

“Speaking of which… it’s as if I’m unusually sensitive to presences or feeling chills, but no, more importantly… there’s another hole in the ceiling.”

I can’t believe what I saw, but I have no choice but to tell it as it is. Because there was indeed a hole where I was looking.

Passerby Tanaka: “So, someone or something is coming here again… what a terrible timing.”

Night’s Main Gun: “It’s hard to believe they figured out how to get here and rushed over…”

Passerby Tanaka: “Well, we should consider it a monster and act accordingly.”

Shogo nodded once, indicating his agreement with the post.

The chill running down my spine is similar to what I felt during the Black Demon incident.

At that time, it was a chill that ran down my spine, but this time it was a weak, prickling sensation on the nape of my neck.

In any case, this pain should be considered a sign that what is falling is a monster.

Then, there are two courses of action to take from here. Either we hunker down in the safe zone and wait it out, or we fight.

If they take refuge… it would be good if they could quickly move to the area beyond the passage past the lake, but there’s also a possibility they might linger in the lake.

The only option left is to fight.

It’s not something you can choose so easily. Even though I’ve gotten used to handling skills, when it comes to dealing with lives…

The only reason I was able to defeat the little goblin was sheer luck. It was merely because the goblin was unaware of Shogo’s skills and was caught off guard.

Even though his skills have awakened and he has become somewhat capable of handling them, Shogo still lacks the confidence to face monsters head-on.

Even if I have to fight, I hope at least it’s a monster I can somewhat handle, like a Large Rat—just a bit bigger than a sewer rat—rather than a terrifying opponent like the gray goblin or the black ogre. Holding his breath, Shogo hurriedly restacks the barricade.

A loud splash reaches Shogo’s ears.

…came.

In front of me, there is a barricade piled up.

The safe zone is confirmed to be invisible from the outside, no, it only looks like a mere depression.

Even the fish bones and the smoke from the campfire couldn’t be seen from outside, and the smell had disappeared.

However, even if it is invisible, it is not inviolable.

Anyone can come in from outside.

The makeshift barricade of piled stones at the entrance is just a temporary measure to deter the enemy for a moment.

Shogo, with his hands clasped in prayer, sensed the presence of someone approaching with a sloshing sound.

And then it stops in front of the safe zone, making short, sharp breaths of “ha, ha, ha,” and producing a sound like licking its tongue.

What can be faintly seen through the gap in the barricade is a blurred human-shaped silhouette.

Suppressing his trembling body and even holding his breath, Shogo waited for it to leave.

Just before losing consciousness from lack of oxygen, the presence starts to fade away.

Confirming that the presence had sufficiently distanced itself, Shogo let out a thin, quiet sigh and placed his hand on the ground.

Kemomecho: “……Did you say something?”

Shogo nodded towards the wall.

Passerby Tanaka: “What kind of monster was it?”

“It’s a humanoid, slightly taller than me.”

Night’s Main Gun: “When we return, can’t we launch a preemptive strike from the safe zone next time?”

“Th-that can’t be…”

Shogo couldn’t help but let out a small voice at the unexpected proposal.

Kemomecho: “That might be… good. If it’s that size.”

“I can’t do that… I’m… scared.”

Kemomecho: “Shogo. From the sound earlier, it’s probably a large-sized dog-oni kobold. They’re not very smart, but they’re persistent. Their sense of smell is incredibly sharp. They can detect scents that humans can’t even perceive. We were lucky it passed by earlier. It will probably come back.”

Passerby Tanaka: “With that skill, it should be a one-hit kill. If it works on that little goblin, catching it off guard shouldn’t be a problem.”

Night’s Main Cannon: “You can do it”

It wasn’t that I was being urged to fight without reason. But I couldn’t believe I could do it. I was useless. Stagnant… no, but my skills were certainly…

Kemomecho: “If we can take them down by surprise, that’s definitely the better option. We need to steel ourselves. One at a time, we can handle it.”

As writings scolding Shogo flow across the wall, a voice whispering “Fight” can be heard again.

However, even if I could attack, if I missed and it charged at me, I feel like my legs would give way and I wouldn’t be able to move.

Can I really do this?

“Fight”

That’s right, if it’s over the barricade.

But will it hit? What if it moves?

“Fight”

Shogo kept his mouth shut, his mind racing in circles with hesitation, but as if to overshadow it, a presence filled with tension ran down his neck.

“No way… already back?”

Kemomecho: “Shogo. If they come close without hesitation, shoot immediately.”

Passerby Tanaka: “With Nakamura’s skills, it’s definitely possible to pierce through the barricade and stab the enemy.”

Even as he follows the text with his eyes, the presence grows stronger, asserting its existence to Shogo.

In front of the simple barricade made by stacking hewn stones——it came… closer than before.

The sound of breath growling like a beast and the sound of water dripping, drop by drop, reach Shogo’s ears from two meters away.

The blurred silhouette, even from the barricade piled up to Shogo’s head height, with vertically elongated and pointed ears.

It’s a dog-demon kobold.

“Fight”

There’s no choice but to do it.

Shogo raised his right hand and headed towards the barricade.

Focus. The distance is two meters.

One strike to finish it. I don’t have the skills or stamina to deal with a counterattack.

The target is the torso and chest, the center of the body. An attack on a fatal area.

“Fight”

At this distance, the power shouldn’t drop much, and it should be able to extend to the size of a fist.

“Fight”

That’s right, I can do it. I have the power.

Shogo slowly exhaled and activated his skill. He focused as much power as possible, without losing consciousness, and released it at the maximum speed he could muster.

And in an instant, a fist-sized hole appeared in the barricade, and the skill was directed at the target—

“Gugya!!……”

Hit.

“Yah-yah-yah!”

The target collapses towards Shogo, breaking through the barricade and revealing its form.

If Shogo’s memory serves correctly, it is a form that can be called a dog-demon kobold, but like the small goblin, it is also larger than usual, and its body color is gray instead of the black color in the reference material.

Kemomecho: “Hurry up and finish it!”

Shogo glanced at the text chat reminder out of the corner of his eye, then delivered the final blow to the dog-demon kobold writhing on the ground with a gaping hole in its chest.